Psalms 118

This is a psalm of thanksgiving for rescue, sung by one who was surrounded and nearly crushed but was lifted up by the LORD. It moves from a call to praise, through the story of deliverance, to a procession into the temple gates. It closes where it began, with thanks for God’s enduring love.

Psalms 118:1

The psalm opens with a call to thank the LORD for who He is. He is good, and His covenant love does not run out. Everything that follows rests on this one fact.

BSA: loving devotion (“kindness, mercy”): God’s love is not a mood but a faithful, merciful kindness that stays committed to His people. endures (“lasts, remains”): His love stays when everything else passes.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “steadfast covenant love.” This word describes loyal love that keeps a promise. It is God holding fast to His people when they have nothing to offer.

See also: Psalm 136:1.

Psalms 118:2-4

Three groups are called to answer in turn: all Israel, the priestly house of Aaron, and everyone who fears the LORD. The last group is open to any reverent person, including outsiders who worship Him. The same refrain is on every lip.

BSA: fear (“have reverence for”): This is not terror but humble, loving respect for God.

See also: Psalm 115:9-13.

Psalms 118:5

The singer remembers a time of great trouble. He cried out, God answered, and God brought him out into open space. Distress is a tight place; salvation is a wide one.

BSA: set me free (“in a large, broad place”): Rescue is pictured as being moved from a cramped corner into roomy freedom.

Hebrew: מֶרְחָב (merchav, H4800) — “a wide, open space.” The Hebrew sets the narrow place of distress against the broad place of freedom. The picture is of room to breathe.

Psalms 118:6-7

Because the LORD is with him, the singer has no fear of what people can do. God is his helper, so he expects to see his enemies defeated. His courage comes from who stands beside him, not from his own strength.

BSA: helper (“to aid and assist me”): God is an active ally who steps in and works for His servant.

See also: Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:6.

Psalms 118:8-9

Two matching sayings give the lesson of the psalm. Even the best human help, whether ordinary people or powerful princes, is limited and can fail. The LORD is a safe place to run to, and He does not let down those who run there.

BSA: take refuge (“to flee for safety”): Trust is shown as running to God for shelter, not merely agreeing that He exists.

See also: Psalm 146:3.

Psalms 118:10-12

Enemy nations closed in on every side, as thick as a swarm of bees. Yet they burned out as fast as a fire in dry thorns, flaring up and then gone. The victory is won in the name of the LORD, not by the singer’s own power.

BSA: name (“identity, character, and honor”): Acting in God’s name means relying on all that He is, not on one’s own strength. cut them off (“destroyed, circumcised, removed them”): The enemies were cut away so that they could no longer threaten him.

Hebrew: אֲמִילַם (amilam, H4135) — “I cut them off.” The verb is related to the word for circumcision. It describes a decisive cutting away.

Psalms 118:13

The singer admits how close he came to falling. The attack was violent and he was nearly knocked over. Then the LORD helped him. His survival is credited to God, not to his own skill.

BSA: helped (“aided, assisted, gave protection”): God stepped in at the very moment of falling and held him up.

Psalms 118:14

The LORD is the singer’s strength and his song, the power behind him and the reason he sings. The words echo the song of Moses after the Red Sea. God did not merely give salvation; He became it.

BSA: salvation (“deliverance, victory”): God Himself is the rescue, not just its giver.

Hebrew: יְשׁוּעָה (yeshuah, H3444) — “salvation, deliverance.” This word is closely related to the name Yeshua, or Jesus, which means the LORD saves.

See also: Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 12:2.

Psalms 118:15-16

Glad shouts of victory rise from the homes of God’s people. They give the credit to the LORD’s right hand, the picture of His strong, active power. It is lifted high and does mighty things.

BSA: right hand (“the right hand or side”): The right hand stands for God’s strength at work in the world. valor (“might, courage, strength”): God’s power is shown as bold and effective, not as mere presence.

See also: Exodus 15:6.

Psalms 118:17-18

The singer will live, and he will spend his life telling what God has done. He knows his suffering was God’s correction, and it was severe. But God did not hand him over to death. Discipline from a loving Father aims at restoring us, not destroying us.

BSA: disciplined (“chastened, corrected, or punished”): The pain was training and correction from a Father, not abandonment. proclaim (“declare, recount”): Rescue is meant to be retold so that others may hear.

See also: Hebrews 12:5-11.

Psalms 118:19-20

The singer arrives at the temple and asks for its gates to be opened. These are gates of righteousness, because only those right with God may enter His presence. The answer is that this is the LORD’s own gate, and the righteous may come in through it.

BSA: gates (“entrance to God’s presence”): Entering is more than walking into a building; it is coming near to God. righteous (“just, upright, having God’s nature”): Those who enter are the ones whom God has set right with Himself.

See also: Psalm 24:3-4; John 10:9.

Psalms 118:21

Now inside, the singer turns from speaking about God to speaking to Him. He gives thanks because God heard his cry and became his salvation. Praise becomes personal and direct.

BSA: answered (“heard, responded to”): God not only listened but acted on the prayer.

Psalms 118:22-23

A stone the builders threw away turned out to be the most important stone in the building, the one that holds the corner together. It pictures the singer, and later Israel itself, despised and then lifted up by God. The New Testament applies it to Jesus, rejected and raised. It is God’s doing, and wonderful to see.

BSA: rejected (“spurned, refused”): The builders looked at the stone and judged it useless. cornerstone (“head, chief”): The stone becomes the head of the building, on which everything else depends.

See also: Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7.

Psalms 118:24

God has made this day, the day of His saving act, and the people respond with gladness. Joy is the fitting answer to what He has done. Believers have long used this verse to greet each new day, and many use it for the day of Christ’s rising.

BSA: made (“created, brought into existence”): The day is not an accident; God Himself brought it about. rejoice (“expressing strong emotions like joy”): This is a whole-hearted joy, not a polite smile.

Psalms 118:25

The crowd cries out for God to save them and to grant success. The Hebrew for the first plea is hoshia na, which is the word behind Hosanna. Even in celebration, they ask for more of His help.

BSA: save (“rescue, deliver”): The plea is for real rescue, not just a good feeling.

Hebrew: הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא (hoshia na, H3467) — “save, please.” This is the source of the cry Hosanna. It began as a prayer for rescue and became a shout of praise.

See also: Matthew 21:9.

Psalms 118:26

The one coming to the temple is welcomed with a blessing, because he comes in the LORD’s name, not his own. Priests speak from God’s house. The crowds greeted Jesus with these words as He entered Jerusalem.

BSA: comes (“approaches, enters”): The blessing is given to the person who arrives at God’s house.

See also: Matthew 21:9.

Psalms 118:27

The LORD is God, and He has given light to His people, meaning His favor and guidance. The festival procession then brings the sacrifice to the altar, with the animal tied by cords to its horns. Gratitude takes a visible, costly form.

BSA: light (“spiritual illumination, divine guidance”): God’s light shows His favor and gives His people direction. festal sacrifice (“thank offering, celebratory gift”): The offering is a way of saying thank you.

See also: Numbers 6:25.

Psalms 118:28

The singer makes a personal declaration: You are my God. He promises to thank and to lift up the One who rescued him. The repetition shows a settled trust.

BSA: exalt (“lift up, glorify”): To exalt God is to place Him high in our lives and speech.

Psalms 118:29

The psalm returns to its first line. After the whole story of danger and rescue, the lesson is the same: the LORD is good and His love lasts forever. The reader is invited to give thanks as well.

BSA: good (“pleasant, beneficial”): God’s goodness is not only moral purity but real benefit to His people.